Integrated circuit having raised source drains devices with reduced silicide contact resistance and methods to fabricate same

ABSTRACT

A structure has at least one field effect transistor having a gate stack disposed between raised source drain structures that are adjacent to the gate stack. The gate stack and raised source drain structures are disposed on a surface of a semiconductor material. The structure further includes a layer of field dielectric overlying the gate stack and raised source drain structures and first contact metal and second contact metal extending through the layer of field dielectric. The first contact metal terminates in a first trench formed through a top surface of a first raised source drain structure, and the second contact metal terminates in a second trench formed through a top surface of a second raised source drain structure. Each trench has silicide formed on sidewalls and a bottom surface of at least a portion of the trench. Methods to fabricate the structure are also disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The exemplary embodiments of this invention relate generally tosemiconductor devices and fabrication techniques and, more specifically,relate to the fabrication of semiconductor transistor devices, such asthose used in random access memory (RAM) and logic circuitry, using asilicon on insulator (SOI) substrate such as an extremely thin SOI(ETSOI) substrate, also known as a fully depleted SOI, or a partiallydepleted SOI (PDSOI).

BACKGROUND

In SOI technology a thin silicon layer is formed over an insulatinglayer, such as silicon oxide, which in turn is formed over a substrate.This insulating layer is often referred to as a buried oxide (BOX) layeror simply as a BOX.

In current CMOS technology silicide contact resistance can be asignificant performance limiting factor. With continued device pitchscaling the contact length of the CMOS transistors is reducedsignificantly thereby adversely impacting the contact resistance.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect thereof the exemplary embodiments of this inventionprovide a method to fabricate a transistor device. The method includesdepositing raised source drain structures adjacent to a gate stackdisposed on a surface of a semiconductor material, the gate stack beingcomprised of a gate conductor and having a gate spacer. The methodfurther includes forming a trench through a top surface of each raisedsource drain structure; depositing metal to cover sidewalls and a bottomof at least a portion of each trench; siliciding the deposited metal;depositing a layer of field dielectric over the gate stack and theraised source drain structures; opening apertures through the layer offield dielectric at contact locations, the apertures extending to thesilicided metal at the bottom of each trench and exposing the silicidedtrench sidewalls; and depositing contact metal into the apertures to bein electrically conductive contact with the silicided metal at thebottom of each trench and the silicided trench sidewalls.

In another aspect thereof the exemplary embodiments of this inventionprovide a method to fabricate a transistor device. The method includesdepositing raised source drain structures adjacent to a gate stackdisposed on a surface of a semiconductor material; depositing metal on atop surface of each raised source drain structure and over a top surfaceof the gate conductor; siliciding the deposited metal; depositing alayer of field dielectric over the gate stack and the raised sourcedrain structures; opening apertures through the layer of fielddielectric at contact locations, the apertures extending to thesilicided metal at the top of each raised source drain structure;forming a trench through the silicided metal at the top of each raisedsource drain structure, each trench extending at least partially intothe raised source drain structure; depositing metal to cover sidewallsand a bottom of at least a portion of each trench; siliciding thedeposited metal covering the sidewalls and the bottom of each trench;and depositing contact metal into the apertures to be in electricallyconductive contact with the silicided metal at the bottom of each trenchand the silicided trench sidewalls.

In yet another aspect thereof the exemplary embodiments of thisinvention provide a structure that comprises at least one field effecttransistor having a gate stack disposed between raised source drainstructures that are adjacent to the gate stack. The gate stack andraised source drain structures are disposed on a surface of asemiconductor material. The structure further includes a layer of fielddielectric overlying the gate stack and raised source drain structuresand first contact metal and second contact metal extending through thelayer of field dielectric. The first contact metal terminates in a firsttrench formed through a top surface of a first raised source drainstructure, and the second contact metal terminates in a second trenchformed through a top surface of a second raised source drain structure.Each trench has silicide formed on sidewalls and a bottom surface of atleast a portion of the trench.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-15 illustrate a SOI embodiment, such as an ETSOI embodiment or aPDSOI embodiment of this invention, where.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of an SOIstarting structure that includes a substrate, a buried oxide or BOXlayer and a SOI (Si) layer overlying the BOX;

FIG. 2 shows the structure of FIG. 1 after a blanket deposition of agate dielectric (oxide) layer, a metal-gate layer and a protective hardmask to form a gate stack precursor;

FIG. 3 shows the structure of FIG. 2 after photolithographic patterningof the layers and the formation of a gate structure;

FIG. 4 shows the structure of FIG. 3 after definition of a gate spacer;

FIGS. 5A and 5B, collectively referred to as FIG. 5, show the structureof FIG. 4 after the formation of raised source-drains (RSD) and a secondspacer, where FIG. 5A shows a faceted RSD and FIG. 5B shows anun-faceted RSD;

FIGS. 6A and 6B, collectively referred to as FIG. 6, show the structureof FIG. 5 after etching the RSDs to form trenches;

FIGS. 7A and 7B, collectively referred to as FIG. 7, show the structureof FIG. 6 after stripping the hard mask and siliciding deposited metalon the top of a gate conductor 18 and within the trenches;

FIGS. 8A and 8B, collectively referred to as FIG. 8, show the structureof FIG. 7 after a blanket deposition of a field dielectric layer and anetch is performed to open apertures through the field dielectric layerover the RSD; and

FIGS. 9A and 9B, collectively referred to as FIG. 9, show the structureof FIG. 8 after the deposition of a metal via having intrinsic stress,either tensile (T) or compressive (C), in the trench so as to contactthe silicide exposed through the apertures in accordance with a firstembodiment.

FIGS. 10-13 are applicable to the second embodiment of this invention,where.

FIGS. 10A and 10B, collectively referred to as FIG. 10, show a structurethat has undergone conventional CMOS process flow up until thedeposition of contact area metal on the RSD and on the gate structure,followed by an anneal to silicide the deposited contact metal forming asilicided gate contact and silicided RSD contacts;

FIGS. 11A and 11B, collectively referred to as FIG. 11, show thestructure of FIG. 10 after blanket deposition of the field dielectriclayer and an etch to open apertures through the field dielectric layerover the RSD and the opening of opens trenches at least into the RSDstructures;

FIGS. 12A and 12B, collectively referred to as FIG. 12, show thestructure of FIG. 11 after a second silicide process wherein the metalis deposited through the apertures opened in FIG. 11 to contact at leastthe portions of the RSD Si exposed in the trenches followed bysiliciding the deposited metal; and

FIGS. 13A and 13B, collectively referred to as FIG. 13, show thestructure of FIG. 12 after the deposition of the metal via havingintrinsic stress, either tensile (T) or compressive (C), in theapertures and the silicided trenches.

FIGS. 14A and 14B, collectively referred to as FIG. 14, show a thirdembodiment where the trench silicide is applied for just one polarity ofdevice or alternatively where the trench silicide is applied only forlogic FETS and not memory FETS (or vice versa), and further where thefield dielectric can be applied to have intrinsic tensile or compressivestress, either in combination with metal vias having intrinsic stress,either tensile (T) or compressive (C), or with metal vias having no orlittle intrinsic stress.

FIGS. 15A and 15B, collectively referred to as FIG. 15, show a fourthembodiment where the contact field dielectric is stressed (tensile orcompressive) and fills the RSD trench (as in FIG. 11) at locations awayfrom where the contact metal (stud) makes contact to the silicidedtrench and applies stress to the channel.

FIG. 16 illustrates an increase in total access resistance (Ron) for adevice having a gate length (Lgate) of 24 nm for different device pitch(CPP) and contact resistance assumptions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 16 illustrates the increase in the total access resistance (Ron)for a device having a gate length (Lgate) of 24 nm for different devicepitch (CPP) and contact resistance assumptions. It can be noted that Ronchanges by 500 ohm-μm when Rho_C changes by an order of magnitude at 80CPP, and that Ron changes by 250 ohm-μm when Rho_C changes by an orderof magnitude at 130 CPP.

One possible approach to reducing the access resistance noted above isto reduce the metal-silicon contact resistivity by employing differentmetals and/or co-implants at the silicon-contact interface in order toreduce the Schottky barrier height. However, the use of reducedannealing temperatures during or after the silicide process can precludeseveral metal and/or co-implant options for barrier height reduction.Additionally, different metals and/or co-implants and annealingtemperatures may be required for NFET devices and PFET devices,rendering this approach generally unsuitable for CMOS processing.

The exemplary embodiments of this invention provide a process toincrease the silicide surface area which in turn reduces the accessresistance for transistors. Moreover this technique can be applied todevices having both type of polarity, i.e., the process can be usedwithout modification for both PFETS and for NFETS.

The embodiments of this invention provide a method and structure toincrease the silicide contact surface area without increasing the devicepitch for raised source drain (RSD) planar devices. For example, the RSDcan be recessed by about 20 nm to obtain at least a two times increasein the contact length which results in a substantial reduction incontact resistance. The process can be implemented in a self-alignedfashion and does not require an alteration of the typical thermalprocessing cycles.

The embodiments of this invention are described in the context of SOIsubstrates including ETSOI and PDSOI substrates. However, the teachingsof this invention can also be applied to CMOS devices fabricated on abulk substrate.

FIGS. 1-15 illustrate a SOI embodiment, such as an ETSOI embodiment or aPDSOI embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of an SOIstarting structure that includes a substrate 10, an overlying insultinglayer (a buried oxide or BOX layer 12) and a SOI (Si) layer 14 overlyingthe BOX 12. In FIG. 1, and the other FIGURES, the layer thicknesses andfeature/structure sizes are not drawn to scale. The SOI layer 14 in thisembodiment can be an ETSOI layer and can have a thickness in a range of,for example about 3 nm to about 15 nm. The SOI layer 14 in thisembodiment can instead be a PDSOI layer and can have a thickness in arange of, for example about 80 nm to about 130 nm. The BOX 12 can have athickness in a range of, by example, about 10 nm to about 200 nm (orthicker). The substrate 10 can be Si and can have any desired thickness.

Note that the BOX 12 can be considered as optional, such as when it isdesired to fabricate the transistor devices using a bulk Si substrate.In this case the SOI layer 14 can be considered as an upper portion ofthe Si substrate 10. The remainder of this description will focus on theSOI structures, however it should be kept in mind that the embodimentsof this invention are not limited for use with only SOI substrates.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of FIG. 1 after a blanket deposition of agate dielectric (oxide) layer 16, a metal-gate layer 18 and a protectivedielectric layer 20 (hard mask). These three deposited layers can beconsidered as a gate stack precursor.

The gate dielectric layer 16 can have an exemplary thickness in a rangeof about 2 nm to about 5 nm. In some embodiments the gate dielectriclayer 16 can be or include a layer of high dielectric constant (high-k)material comprising a dielectric metal oxide and having a dielectricconstant that is greater than the dielectric constant of silicon nitrideof 7.5. The high-k dielectric layer 16 may be formed by methods wellknown in the art including, for example, chemical vapor deposition(CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), molecular beam deposition (MBD),pulsed laser deposition (PLD), liquid source misted chemical deposition(LSMCD), etc. The dielectric metal oxide comprises a metal and oxygen,and optionally nitrogen and/or silicon. Exemplary high-k dielectricmaterials include HfO₂, ZrO₂, La₂O₃, Al₂O₃, TiO₂, SrTiO₃, LaAlO₃, Y₂O₃,HfO_(x)N_(y), ZrO_(x)N_(y), La₂O_(x)N_(y), Al₂O_(x)N_(y), TiO_(x)N_(y),SrTiO_(x)N_(y), LaAlO_(x)N_(y), Y₂O_(x)N_(y), a silicate thereof, and analloy thereof. Each value of x is independently from 0.5 to 3 and eachvalue of y is independently from 0 to 2. The thickness of the high-kdielectric layer 16 may be from 1 nm to 10 nm, and more preferably fromabout 1.5 nm to about 3 nm. The high-k dielectric layer 16 can have aneffective oxide thickness (EOT) on the order of, or less than, about 1nm.

The metal-gate layer 18 can have an exemplary thickness in a range ofabout 5 nm to about 50 nm and can be formed of any desired gate metal orgate metal system. The metal-gate layer 18 can be deposited using, forexample, one of chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapordeposition (PVD), or atomic layer deposition (ALD). As non-limitingexamples the gate metal 18 can include a metal system selected from oneor more of TiN, TiC, TaN, TaC, TaSiN, HfN, W, Al and Ru, and can beselected at least in part based on the desired work function (WF) of thedevice (NFET or PFET) to be fabricated. In other embodiments the gateconductor can be formed from a layer of heavily doped polysilicon(poly).

The dielectric layer 20 is one that is resistant to a subsequentlyperformed RSD etching process, and could be composed of, for example, anoxide, a nitride, aluminum oxide, etc.). The dielectric (hard mask)layer 20 can be formed by any suitable deposition process and can have athickness of about 15 nm to about 25 nm (as one non-limiting thicknessrange). The dielectric layer 20 is a sacrificial layer and issubsequently removed and replaced with a desired gate contact metal inFIG. 7.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of FIG. 2 after photolithographic patterningof the layers 16, 18 and 20 and the formation of a gate structure 22. Areactive ion etch (RIE) or any desired single or multi-step etchingprocess can be used to remove the layers 16, 18 and 20 except where thegate structure 22 is desired to be located. In practice some largenumber of gate structures are simultaneously patterned and defined.

FIG. 4 shows the structure of FIG. 3 after deposition of gate spacermaterial (e.g., nitride or oxide) and a RIE process to define the gatespacer 24. An optional extension implant into the SOI layer 14 can beperformed to implant source-drain (S/D) extension regions adjacent tothe gate structures 22. The implant species is dependent on whether thetransistor being fabricated is a PFET or an NFET as is well known.

FIGS. 5A and 5B, collectively referred to as FIG. 5, show the structureof FIG. 4 after the formation of raised source-drains (RSD) 26 and thedeposition of a nitride (e.g., SiN₃) and/or an oxide (e.g., (SiO₂) and aRIE to form a second spacer 28. The second spacer 28 is formed toprotect the RSD edge adjacent the gate structure 22 and enables theformation of a self-aligned RSD trench (in FIG. 6).

The RSD 26 can be implanted with a desired dopant or it can be in-situdoped when deposited. The RSD can be faceted (as shown in FIG. 5A) ornot faceted (as shown in FIG. 5B). Henceforth for FIGS. 6-10 a FIGUREnumber followed by “A” refers to the faceted RSD embodiment, while aFIGURE number followed by “B” refers to the unfaceted RSD embodiment.

As an example, the RSD 26 can be in-situ doped and can have a dopantconcentration in a range of, as a non-limiting example, about 5×10¹⁹atoms/cm³ to about 8×10²¹ atoms/cm³. The RSD 26 are formed by theepitaxial growth of silicon, such as by the use of a mixture of silaneand dichlorosilane gases with a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process.Phosphorus is one suitable n-type dopant, and Boron is one suitablep-type dopant. The epitaxial growth can be preferential to Si and canresult, possibly in combination with an etching step performed during acyclical epitaxial growth process, in a layer that exhibits the facets26A shown in FIG. 5A.

The formation of in-situ doped RSD structures is well characterized inthe art. For example, reference can be made to commonly owned U.S. Pat.No. 6,774,000, “Method of Manufacture of MOSFET Device with In-SituDoped Raised Source and Drain Structures”, Wesley C. Natzle et al., andto “A raised source/drain technology using in-situ P-doped SiGe andB-doped Si for 0.1-μm CMOS ULSIs”, Takashi Uchino et al., ElectronDevices meeting, 1997, IEDM '97. Technical Digest, International, 7-10Dec. 1997, pgs. 479-482. Reference can also be made to “Extremely ThinSOI (ETSOI) CMOS with Record Low Variability for Low PowerSystem-on-Chip Applications”, K. Cheng, A. Khakifirooz, P. Kulkarni, S.Ponoth, J. Kuss, D. Shahrjerdi, L. F. Edge, A. Kimball, S.Kanakasabapathy, K. Xiu, S. Schmitz, A. Reznicek, T. Adam, H. He, N.Loubet, S. Holmes, S. Mehta, D. Yang, A. Upham, S.-C. Seo, J. L. Herman,R. Johnson, Y. Zhu, P. Jamison, B. S. Haran, Z. Zhu, L. H. Vanamurth, S.Fan, D. Horak, H. Bu, P. J. Oldiges, D. K. Sadana, P. Kozlowski, D.McHerron, J. O'Neill, B. Doris, Solid-State Circuits Conference Digestof Technical Papers (ISSCC), 2010 IEEE International Issue Date: 7-11Feb. 2010 pgs. 152-153.

FIGS. 6A and 6B, collectively referred to as FIG. 6, show the structureof FIG. 5 after etching the Si of the RSD 26 to form trenches 30. Theetch is preferably an anisotropic etch selective to the Si of the RSDstructures 26 and can be accomplished using a RIE. The second spacer 28is subsequently removed. The trench depth is selected based on theheight of the RSD 26 so as to extend substantially through the thicknessof the RSD.

It is pointed out that the Si etch in the RSD 26 can be limited to thecontact area only or, in another embodiment, the etch could run theentire width (or almost the entire width) of the device. In this lattercase the contact would be a bar instead of a stud and would fill thetrench in the RSD 26 throughout the device width.

FIGS. 7A and 7B, collectively referred to as FIG. 7, show the structureof FIG. 6 after stripping the protective dielectric layer 20,application of a mask followed by the deposition of a metal selectivelyonto the top of the gate conductor 18 and into the trenches 30, and ananneal performed at low temperature (for example, less than about 450°C.) to form silicide 32, including gate contact silicide 32A and RSDcontact silicide 32B. Exemplary and non-limiting metals that can bedeposited include Nickel, Platinum or Titanium, and the metal thicknessis preferably several Å, such a about 6 Å to about 8 Å. The annealprocess thus produces one of NiSi, PtSi or TiSi. The RSD contactsilicide 32B may or may not extend through the SOI layer 14 to the uppersurface of the BOX 12.

FIGS. 8A and 8B, collectively referred to as FIG. 8, show the structureof FIG. 7 after a blanket deposition of a field dielectric layer 34 (anoxide or a nitride). The field dielectric layer 34 can have a thickness,for example, in a range of about 50 nm to about 150 nm. A contact area(CA) mask is applied and an etch is performed to open apertures 34Athrough the field dielectric layer 34 over the RSD 26. The apertures 34Astop on the RSD contact silicide 32B. It can be noted that FIG. 8 (andthe other Figures) show the cross-section at the contact studs (vias),and that elsewhere along the length of the RSD 26 the field dielectric34 fills the RSD trench 32B. Note again that the contact could have theform of a bar that runs the width of the device and in this case theapertures 34A are shaped accordingly.

At this point subsequent processing can be performed in accordance withone of several embodiments, as detailed below.

Embodiment 1:

FIGS. 9A and 9B, collectively referred to as FIG. 9, show the structureof FIG. 8 after the deposition of a metal via 36 having intrinsicstress, either tensile (T) or compressive (C), in the trench 30 so as tocontact the silicide 32B exposed through the apertures 34A of FIG. 8.The result is the formation of either an NFET or a PFET having a channelin the SOI 14 between the RSD structures 26. The type of the intrinsicstress (T/C) is selected to have a polarity that enhances the channelstrain, thereby enhancing the carrier mobility in the channel. Suitablecontact metals to form the vias 36 include, for example, Tungsten,Copper or Aluminum. As is well known in the art the type of stress thatthe contact metal exhibits is a function of how the metal is deposited.

According to some exemplary embodiments of the present invention themetal vias 36 can be stress engineered whereby they are formed to be inan intrinsic state of stress to provide a compressive state of stress ora tensile state of stress that is propagated to the channel. Forexample, metal via 36 can have a Pillings-Bedworth (PB) ratio thatallows for a net volumetric expansion upon anneal to impose acompressive stress, or optionally can have PB ratio that allows for anet volumetric compression upon anneal to impose a tensile stress. Bothtechniques may be incorporated into multiple devices on the same wafer.Techniques for stress engineering metals are well known. For example,reference can be made to: Koch, R. J., The Intrinsic Stress ofPolycrystalline and Epitaxial Thin Metal Films, Phys.: Condens. Matter6, 9519-9550 (1994); Hoffman, D. W., Thornton, J A., The CompressiveStress Transition in Al, V, Zr, Nb and W Metal Films Sputtered at LowWorking Pressures, Thin Solid Films, 45, 387-396 (1977), and Hoffman, D.W., Stress and Property Control in Sputtered Metal Films WithoutSubstrate Bias, Thin Solid Films, 107, 353-358 (1983).

As can be clearly seen in FIG. 9 the use of the silicided RSD trenchprovides a significantly greater metal via contact area, as compared toa conventional case where the metal via 36 would contact just asilicided pad atop the RSD (e.g., see FIG. 10), thereby significantlyreducing contact area resistance.

Embodiment 2:

FIGS. 10-13 are applicable to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIGS. 10A and 10B, collectively referred to as FIG. 10, show a structurethat has undergone conventional CMOS process flow up until thedeposition of contact area metal on the RSD and on the gate structure22, followed by an anneal to silicide the deposited contact metal. Thisforms silicided gate contact 40A and silicided RSD contacts 40B. As inthe embodiments of FIGS. 1-9, FIG. 10A shows the faceted RSD 26 and FIG.10B the non-faceted RSD 26.

FIGS. 11A and 11B, collectively referred to as FIG. 11, show thestructure of FIG. 10 after blanket deposition of the field dielectriclayer 34 (an oxide or a nitride). As in FIG. 8 the field dielectriclayer 34 can have a thickness, for example, in a range of about 50 nm toabout 150 nm. The contact area (CA) mask is applied and an etch isperformed to open apertures 34A through the field dielectric layer 34over the RSD 26. In this case the etch can include multiple etchprocesses to etch the field oxide 34, then etch at least a portion ofthe area of the silicided RSD contacts 40B, and then etch beyond thesilicided RSD contacts 40B at least into the RSD 26, and possiblythrough the RSD 26 and the SOI layer 14 to stop at the BOX 12. Thisopens trenches 41 into the RSD structures 26 and possibly beyond (e.g.,at least as far as the BOX 12). In this etching process the fielddielectric layer 34 and the doped RSD 26 can be etched by RIE.Sputtering can be used to etch/remove the silicide. The RIE andsputtering steps can be carried out in separate chambers, although theRIE tool can be modified to have the sputtering capability.

FIGS. 12A and 12B, collectively referred to as FIG. 12, show thestructure of FIG. 11 after a second silicide process wherein the metalis deposited through the apertures opened in FIG. 11 to contact at leastthe portions of the RSD Si exposed in the trenches 41, followed by thelow temperature (for example, less than about 450° C.) anneal tosilicide the deposited metal. The anneal process thus produces one of,for example, NiSi, PtSi or TiSi 40C within at least the RSD 26 (andpossibly to a depth that terminates at the BOX 12 if present). After thesecond anneal the newly produced silicide 40C in the trenches 41 iselectrically contiguous with the already deposited silicide 40B.

FIGS. 13A and 13B, collectively referred to as FIG. 13, show thestructure of FIG. 12 after the deposition of the metal via 36 havingintrinsic stress, either tensile (T) or compressive (C), in theapertures 34A and the silicided trenches 41 so as to contact thesilicide 40C. The result is the formation of either an NFET or a PFEThaving a channel in the SOI 14 between the RSD structures 26. As in theembodiment of FIGS. 1-9, the type of the intrinsic stress (T/C) isselected to have a polarity that enhances the channel strain, therebyenhancing the carrier mobility in the channel. As before, suitablecontact metals to form the vias 36 include, for example, Tungsten,Copper or Aluminum.

The use of the silicided RSD trenches 41 provides a significantlygreater metal via contact area, as compared to a case where the metalvia 36 would contact just the silicided pads 40B atop the RSD 26 as inFIG. 10, thereby significantly reducing contact area resistance.

Embodiment 3:

FIGS. 14A and 14B, collectively referred to as FIG. 14, show anembodiment where the trench silicide is applied for just one polarity ofdevice, e.g., for the NFET device(s) as in FIG. 14B, and not for PFETdevices as in FIG. 14A (or vice versa). Alternatively, the trenchsilicide can be applied only for logic FETS and not memory FETS (or viceversa). Alternatively, the trench silicide can be applied, as anexample, only for PFET logic devices, or only for PFET memory devices,or only for NFET logic devices, or only for NFET memory devices.

In a still further embodiment, the field dielectric 34 (typically anitride) can be applied to have intrinsic tensile or compressive stress,either in combination with metal vias 36 having intrinsic stress, eithertensile (T) or compressive (C), or with metal vias 36 having no orlittle intrinsic stress. In general, for the case where the metal vias36 have intrinsic stress then the intrinsic stress of the fielddielectric 34 is selected to be the same type (tensile or compressive).Techniques to apply a field dielectric having intrinsic stress are wellknown in the art.

For example, a technique enables the creation of desired stressconditions within the channel region of different transistors bymodifying the stress characteristics of a contact etch stop layer thatis formed above the basic transistor structure in order to form contactopenings to the gate and drain and source terminals in an interlayerdielectric material. The effective control of mechanical stress in thechannel region, i.e., an effective stress engineering, may beaccomplished by individually adjusting the internal stress in thecontact etch stop layers located above the respective transistorelements so as to position a contact etch stop layer having an internalcompressive stress above a P-channel transistor while positioning acontact etch stop layer having an internal tensile strain above anN-channel transistor, thereby creating compressive and tensile strain,respectively, in the respective channel regions.

The contact etch stop layer can be formed by plasma enhanced chemicalvapor deposition (PECVD) processes above the transistor, i.e., above thegate structure and the drain and source regions. Silicon nitride may beused due to its high etch selectivity with respect to silicon dioxide,which is a well-established interlayer dielectric material. PECVDsilicon nitride may be deposited with a high intrinsic stress, forexample, up to 2 Giga Pascal (GPa) or significantly higher of tensile orcompressive stress, wherein the type and the magnitude of the intrinsicstress may be efficiently adjusted by selecting appropriate depositionparameters. For example, ion bombardment, deposition pressure, substratetemperature, gas components and the like represent respective parametersthat may be used for obtaining the desired intrinsic stress. Theintrinsic stress can be efficiently transferred into the channel region,thereby significantly improving the performance thereof.

Embodiment 4:

FIGS. 15A and 15B, collectively referred to as FIG. 15, show anembodiment where the contact field dielectric 34 is stressed (tensile orcompressive). In a contact stud embodiment, as opposed to the contactbar embodiment mentioned above, and as is particularly shown in FIG.15B, the field dielectric will fill the RSD trench 41 (e.g. see FIG. 11)at locations away from where the contact metal (stud) 36 makes contactto the silicided trench (e.g., as in FIG. 14B) and applies stress to thechannel.

It is to be understood that although the exemplary embodiments discussedabove with reference to FIGS. 1-15 can be used on common variants of theFET device including, e.g., FET devices with multi-fingered FIN and/orgate structures, FET devices of varying gate width and length, as wellas ring oscillator devices.

Integrated circuit dies can be fabricated with various devices such as afield-effect transistors, bipolar transistors, metal-oxide-semiconductortransistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc., havingcontacts that are formed using methods as described herein. Anintegrated circuit in accordance with the present invention can beemployed in applications, hardware, and/or electronic systems. Suitablehardware and systems in which such integrated circuits can beincorporated include, but are not limited to, personal computers,communication networks, electronic commerce systems, portablecommunications devices (e.g., cell phones), solid-state media storagedevices, functional circuitry, etc. Systems and hardware incorporatingsuch integrated circuits are considered part of this invention. Giventhe teachings of the invention provided herein, one of ordinary skill inthe art will be able to contemplate other implementations andapplications of the techniques of the invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

As such, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent tothose skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description,when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appendedclaims. As but some examples, the use of other similar or equivalentsemiconductor fabrication processes, including deposition processes,etching processes may be used by those skilled in the art. Further, theexemplary embodiments are not intended to be limited to only thosematerials, metals, silicides, insulators, dielectrics, dopants, dopantconcentrations, layer thicknesses and the like that were specificallydisclosed above. Any and all such and similar modifications of theteachings of this invention will still fall within the scope of thisinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method to fabricate a transistor device,comprising: depositing raised source drain structures adjacent to a gatestack disposed on a surface of a semiconductor material, the gate stackcomprised of a gate conductor and having a gate spacer; forming a trenchthrough a top surface of each raised source drain structure; depositingmetal to cover sidewalls and a bottom of at least a portion of eachtrench; siliciding the deposited metal; depositing a layer of fielddielectric over the gate stack and the raised source drain structures;opening apertures through the layer of field dielectric at contactlocations, the apertures extending to the silicided metal at the bottomof each trench and exposing the silicided trench sidewalls; anddepositing contact metal into the apertures to be in electricallyconductive contact with the silicided metal at the bottom of each trenchand the silicided trench sidewalls, where the contact metal is depositedto have one of tensile stress or compressive stress, where the layer offield dielectric is deposited to have one of tensile stress orcompressive stress, and where the layer of field dielectric is depositedto have tensile stress when the contact metal is deposited to havetensile stress, and where the layer of field dielectric is deposited tohave compressive stress when the contact metal is deposited to havecompressive stress.
 2. The method of claim 1, performed when fabricatingboth N-type field effect transistors and P-type field effecttransistors, or performed only for N-type field effect transistors andnot P-type field effect transistors, or performed only for P-type fieldeffect transistors and not N-type field effect transistors.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, performed when fabricating both logic field effecttransistors and memory field effect transistors, or performed only forlogic field effect transistors and not memory field effect transistors,or performed only for memory field effect transistors and not logicfield effect transistors.
 4. The method of claim 1, where depositing ametal to cover sidewalls and the bottom of each trench is performed onlyat the contact locations where the contact metal will be deposited, andwhere the layer of field dielectric is deposited to have one of tensilestress or compressive stress and fills a remainder of each trench wheremetal is not deposited.
 5. The method of claim 1, where the surface ofthe semiconductor material is a surface of a silicon-on-insulator layerdisposed over a layer of buried oxide.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherethe surface of the semiconductor material is a surface of a bulk siliconsubstrate.
 7. The method of claim 1, where depositing raised sourcedrain structures deposits in-situ doped raised source drain structureshaving one of faceted edges or non-faceted edges.
 8. The method of claim7, where depositing raised source drain structures further comprisesforming a protective spacer between the gate spacer and a top edge ofeach raised source drain to cover an edge of each raised source drainstructure that is adjacent the gate stack.
 9. The method of claim 1,where depositing metal to cover the sidewalls and the bottom of eachtrench also deposits the metal on the top of the gate conductor, andwhere siliciding the deposited metal also silicides the metal on the topof the gate conductor.